Six aircraft engine shutdown incidents and three May Day Call reported in India, says Union minister Murlidhar Mohol

“During 2025, from January to July (till date), a total of 06 incidents of engine shutdown and a total of 03 incidents of May Day calls have been reported,” the Minister said in a written response to the Lok Sabha, as per the news report.

The Minister also said that there have been two cases of engine shutdown, each involving IndiGo and SpiceJet, while one incident involved Air India and another with Alliance Air.

The three incidents involving the Mayday calls also included the Air India crash of the AI 171 aircraft on 12 June 2025. The aircraft was headed towards London Gatwick Airport from India’s Ahmedabad Airport. Moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, the aircraft crashed into a nearby building. 

The other two mayday calls were from IndiGo and Air India Express, according to the agency report.

What is a Mayday call?

A Mayday call is a globally recognised signal of distress, mostly used in aviation or maritime communications. The call sign is used in a life-threatening situation, like a potential aircraft crash. In aviation, a pilot repeats the Mayday call three times in a row to inform the air traffic controller (ATC) of the nearest airbase or airport in serious need of help. 

Air India plane crash investigation

According to the agency report, the Union Minister of State of Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, also stated that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s initial report on the Air India crash of 12 June 2025, which was published based on factual information, does not contain any conclusion about the incident and that the investigations are still underway.

“Every aspect is being looked into for determining the probable cause(s)/contributory factor(s) leading to the accident,” said Mohol, responding to a query on whether the government will investigate the crash from a sabotage angle.

Since the year 2022, there has been a “total of 36 accidents (involving 2 scheduled aircraft, 2 non-scheduled aircraft, 19 trainee aircraft, 2 private aircraft and 11 helicopters)” have been reported, according to the agency report citing the Minister of State on Tuesday.